{"id":2019,"date":"2015-10-25T08:10:07","date_gmt":"2015-10-25T14:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2019"},"modified":"2019-03-16T13:51:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T19:51:40","slug":"black-mountain-moffat-county-highpoint-colorado-8-15-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2019","title":{"rendered":"Black Mountain, Moffat County Highpoint, Colorado (8-15-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dawn on Day 7 of Lupe’s great\u00a0Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation found Lupe at Battle Pass in southern Wyoming.\u00a0 The American Dingo was up and ready to go.\u00a0 Another great day of Dingo adventures was about to begin.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed W on Hwy 70.\u00a0 Lupe’s peakbagging goal for the day was going to take her out of Wyoming and into Colorado to climb Black Mountain<\/a><\/span> (10,840 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, the Moffat County High Point.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe up at dawn at Battle Pass, WY in the Sierra Madre range.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Dawn<\/a>The drive down Hwy 70\u00a0from Battle Pass went through\u00a0gorgeous, unspoiled mountain scenery.\u00a0 Lupe rode with her head out of the window in the wind.\u00a0 She had\u00a0a look of pure joy on her face.\u00a0\u00a0Highway 70 left Wyoming and entered Colorado.\u00a0 Lupe passed\u00a0the Slater U.S. Post Office on the N side of the road.\u00a0 If there was a town of Slater somewhere around here, Lupe and SPHP didn’t\u00a0see it.\u00a0 Lupe turned S on South Slater Creek Road, a gravel road that crossed the Little Snake River.<\/p>\n

South Slater Creek Road headed S\u00a0for a mile,\u00a0and then\u00a0followed\u00a0Slater Creek through\u00a0a narrow gap in a high ridge.\u00a0 Immediately beyond the gap was an intersection.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0took the fork to the left across the creek.\u00a0 SPHP was expecting this to be County Road No. 82, but a sign said Moffat County 1.\u00a0 The road headed S along the E side of the Slater Creek valley for\u00a0miles, eventually turning\u00a0more SE and gaining quite a bit of\u00a0elevation.\u00a0 The\u00a0grand unspoiled vistas\u00a0brought to mind the days of the Old West.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking W down at the Slater Creek Valley and beyond.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eventually SPHP saw a sign for County Road No. 82.\u00a0 Lupe was on the right road, but not for long.\u00a0 A few miles later, the road\u00a0forked at\u00a0the Brush Mountain Ranch.\u00a0 A\u00a0sign said No. 82 continued E.\u00a0 The\u00a0other\u00a0choice was an unmarked\u00a0road that went S.\u00a0 SPHP didn’t have any detailed maps of the area, and assumed continuing on No. 82 was the right thing to do.\u00a0 Lupe headed E.\u00a0\u00a0Soon a very nice looking mountain came into view off to the N.\u00a0 SPHP didn’t know it at the time, but this was Brush Mountain<\/span><\/a> (9,869 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near Brush Mountain in Colorado. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP was looking for USFS Road No. 110, but County Road No. 82 went on and on.\u00a0 The scenery was all beautiful and remote.\u00a0 There began to be some signs though, that Lupe was on the wrong road for getting to Black Mountain.\u00a0 USFS Road No. 110 never appeared.\u00a0 Suddenly\u00a0No. 82 magically became No. 80.\u00a0 After No. 80\u00a0went S for some miles,\u00a0there was a\u00a0sign pointing to Bears Ears<\/a><\/span> (10,577 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 It pointed\u00a0W instead of SE.\u00a0 Signs mentioned California Park, which SPHP had never heard of before.<\/p>\n

\"Dingo<\/a>
Dingo barking alert! Cows dead ahead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
In California Park SE of Saddle Mountain<\/span><\/a> (10,057 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP became convinced it just couldn’t be this far to USFS Road No. 110.\u00a0 Finally at the top of a small ridge, there was a trailhead of some sort with a map posted.\u00a0 After studying the map, SPHP realized that the correct road was the one that turned S way back at the Brush Mountain Ranch.\u00a0 Gah!\u00a0 It was 22 miles of gravel just to get back there.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t mind.\u00a0 Neither did SPHP either, not really.\u00a0 Sometimes unplanned adventures just happen.\u00a0 This was one of them.<\/p>\n

Quite some time later, Lupe and SPHP reached Brush Mountain Ranch again.\u00a0 This time Lupe took the road headed S.\u00a0 Soon there was a sign with the unhelpful\u00a0 message “1W”.\u00a0 The road crossed Slater Creek.\u00a0 SPHP stopped and let Lupe out of the G6 to go get a drink.\u00a0 Instead she raced off down into the trees.\u00a0 SPHP hadn’t noticed the huge black cow resting in the shade chewing its cud.\u00a0 Lupe ran right up to it and barked furiously in its face.<\/p>\n

The cow was pretty comfy where it was.\u00a0\u00a0Never before in its\u00a0entire\u00a0life had the cow seen such a\u00a0shrill, noisy, annoying\u00a0thing as the Carolina Dog\u00a0that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.\u00a0 There was only one good thing about it.\u00a0\u00a0The frantic doggie\u00a0was tiny by\u00a0comparison.\u00a0 The cow declined to get up.\u00a0 It wasn’t going\u00a0anywhere.\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0called Lupe.\u00a0 She came racing back up the hill.\u00a0\u00a0Her enthusiastic expression showed\u00a0what worlds of fun\u00a0it was threatening the monstrous cow.\u00a0\u00a0She couldn’t believe SPHP had let her out of the G6 to do that.\u00a0 Lupe never did get a drink out of the creek.<\/p>\n

SPHP drove on.\u00a0 In practically no time, there was a sign for USFS Road No. 110.\u00a0 At last!\u00a0 No. 110 wound around in the forest.\u00a0 Locals kept blocking the road.\u00a0 Some people had cut down\u00a0a huge dead tree.\u00a0 They were cutting it up and loading the pieces onto a big trailer.\u00a0 They had to move their trailer so Lupe and SPHP could get by.\u00a0 A guy in a pickup and a guy in a sheepherder’s rig going in opposite directions were stopped on the road while they chatted.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP came through to bust up the conversation.\u00a0 One of them thanked SPHP a moment later. The conversation had gone on way too long.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking W somewhere along the\u00a0drive to Black Mountain.\u00a0 SPHP believes these may be Mount Oliphant<\/span><\/a> (10,670 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L), Buck Point<\/span> <\/a>(10,550 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(Center), and Mount Welba<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (10,569 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(R).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was lunch time by the time Lupe and SPHP reached the Black Mountain trailhead along USFS Road No. 110.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP had lunch in the shade of some small trees.\u00a0 Finally, at 12:54 PM (69\u00b0F), Lupe and SPHP started for Black Mountain on Trail No. 1185.<\/p>\n

For a short distance, the trail was faint and hard to follow as it\u00a0climbed steeply through an area of tall grass.\u00a0\u00a0Beyond the tall grass the trail was in much better shape.\u00a0 It was easy to follow and\u00a0headed NW along the SW slope of a big forested ridge.\u00a0 The trail undulated up and down.\u00a0 There was a net elevation gain, but not all that much.\u00a0 The forest provided welcome shade.\u00a0 Now and then there were glimpses of distant territory to the SW.<\/p>\n

Eventually Trail No. 1185 reached a saddle between the forested ridge and Black Mountain.\u00a0 Beyond the saddle, the trail started climbing much more steeply.<\/p>\n

Four horseback riders appeared.\u00a0 They were heading down.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP got off the trail to let them pass.\u00a0 They stopped.\u00a0 The first rider said Lupe would get up on the mountain just in time for\u00a0the lightning\u00a0to be snapping and popping real good.\u00a0 On this encouraging note, the riders continued on.\u00a0 As the last horse went by, Lupe couldn’t contain herself any longer and barked.\u00a0 SPHP grabbed her nose and held her mouth shut to keep her from spooking the horses.<\/p>\n

After the horses went by, it\u00a0wouldn’t have\u00a0taken too long to finish the steep part of the climb\u00a0to get up on\u00a0Black Mountain.\u00a0 However, someone far down the mountain started firing a gun as if a war was breaking out.\u00a0 The sound carried very well way up the mountain.\u00a0 Lupe kept wanting to stop and hide.\u00a0 SPHP finally persuaded her to finish the steep climb.<\/p>\n

Once up on top, a sign by the trail said Black Mountain, East Summit, 10,801 ft.\u00a0 SPHP stopped and\u00a0sat on\u00a0a big log.\u00a0 Lupe was happy resting and hiding out nearby.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe rests happily on Black Mountain while she hides from\u00a0the sound of gunfire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Black Mountain is a plateau.\u00a0 The entire mountaintop is pretty flat with sharp drops all around the edges.\u00a0 The mountain has two large parts separated by a comparatively narrow ridge of level ground.\u00a0 The W part of the mountain is somewhat smaller than the E part.\u00a0 Lupe had arrived on the mountain near\u00a0the far\u00a0SE corner of the larger E part.\u00a0 The E portion of Black Mountain\u00a0extends\u00a0more than 0.5\u00a0mile NW\/SE, and\u00a0at most 0.25\u00a0mile SW\/NE.\u00a0\u00a0Trail No. 1185 runs along the length of the\u00a0SW rim.<\/p>\n

The war ended and no more gunfire was heard.\u00a0 Since the E end of the mountain is\u00a0just an increasingly\u00a0narrow flat ridge, it was a short\u00a0easy walk\u00a0from where Lupe came up over to the N side of the mountain. \u00a0Lupe and SPHP went to see what was over there.\u00a0 There was quite a nice view.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the N rim very near the E end of the Black Mountain\u00a0plateau.\u00a0 Photo looks N.\u00a0 The high mountain on the L is likely Buck Point.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After seeing the view to the N, it was time for Lupe to find the true summit of Black Mountain.\u00a0 The highest point and true summit was shown on\u00a0SPHP’s topo map as being less than 0.25 mile to the W.\u00a0 It was supposed to be a very short distance\u00a0N of the trail.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed W on the trail to find it.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, there really wasn’t any identifiable exact summit.\u00a0 Being a plateau, the top of Black Mountain was so level it was hard to say any particular point was the absolute highest.\u00a0 None of the territory N of the trail looked noticeably higher than the trail itself.\u00a0 In fact, not too far N of the trail, the ground\u00a0clearly began to lose elevation.\u00a0 SPHP chose a spot with a few flowers a bit N of the trail for Lupe’s official summit of Black Mountain photo.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe’s official summit of Black Mountain photo. This place looked about as high as anywhere else on the mountain. Close enough for Dingo work!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Lupe’s summit photo, Lupe and SPHP\u00a0went back to the trail to continue NW along the SW rim of Black Mountain.\u00a0 Soon Lupe wanted to stop again.\u00a0 Now there were faint rumblings of thunder.\u00a0 SPHP agreed to stop at a point where there was a good view from the SW rim.\u00a0 It was possible to see a long way to the S, but the view was marred by smoke haze.\u00a0 There had been some haze back in Wyoming, but the smoke was definitely thicker here in Colorado.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A look back from the\u00a0edge of Black Mountain towards the SE.\u00a0 A road is visible going up the first distant ridge just to the right of the tall tree at the center of this photo. The trailhead where the G6 is parked is at the highest point seen on that road from here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was kind of hot – at least in the 70’s \u00b0F.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP sat near the edge of\u00a0Black Mountain.\u00a0 Soon both fell asleep.\u00a0 Suddenly SPHP awoke to the sound of\u00a0puppy feet\u00a0dashing away.\u00a0 Lupe had heard a squirrel.\u00a0 The usual commotion ensued.\u00a0 When it was over, Lupe was completely revived.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP continued NW on the trail.\u00a0 By now there were sprinkles of rain, but nothing serious.\u00a0 The rain soon quit.<\/p>\n

The clouds passed on by.\u00a0 It was sunny again when\u00a0Lupe reached the NW end of the E portion of Black Mountain.\u00a0 Lupe was close to the narrow flat\u00a0area that connects the E part of Black Mountain with the W part.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP crossed over to the N side of\u00a0the mountain to check out the view\u00a0over there.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking N from the NW end of the E portion of Black Mountain. SPHP believes the mountain at center is Mount Oliphant and the one on the right is Buck Point.\u00a0 Mount Welba may be on the left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe along the NE rim of Black Mountain. Photo looks NW towards the W portion of the mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A\u00a0communications site was shown on the topo map.\u00a0 Sure enough,\u00a0a\u00a0little tower was\u00a0in clear view a bit farther\u00a0W.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe reached the communications site on Black Mountain. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the tower at the communications site, Lupe and SPHP headed SW.\u00a0\u00a0At a cliff, Lupe could see a long forested ridge extending S from the W portion of Black Mountain.\u00a0 There was a big gulf of open space between the cliff where Lupe was and that far S ridge.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
This high ridge that extends S from the W portion of Black Mountain. Lupe did not explore any farther in that direction.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe could have gone on to explore the W portion of Black Mountain, but SPHP was satisfied she had gone far enough.\u00a0 It was getting to be time to turn around.\u00a0 On the way back, Lupe and\u00a0SPHP\u00a0explored the NE rim of the E part of Black Mountain.\u00a0\u00a0The ground was definitely lower and not\u00a0as level here as along the SW rim, but it\u00a0was still pretty easy\u00a0going\u00a0through the forest.\u00a0 With no trail, SPHP thought about how\u00a0few people or American Dingoes must ever venture to this part of Black Mountain.<\/p>\n

It was beautiful and peaceful.\u00a0 There were little meadows filled with flowers, although most were now\u00a0past their prime.\u00a0 There were many places with good views to the N.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP had a very fun time exploring.<\/p>\n

\"These<\/a>
These flowers toward the NE rim of Black Mountain were still looking pretty bright and beautiful.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near the NE rim of Black Mountain. She is getting close to the SE end of the mountain again here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shortly before Lupe reached the trail again\u00a0near the far SE end\u00a0of the mountain, SPHP\u00a0realized a big dark cloud was approaching\u00a0from the W.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe and SPHP headed down as soon as Lupe reached the trail.<\/p>\n

The dark cloud started sprinkling rain.\u00a0 Lupe kept wanting to stop\u00a0due to thunder.\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0made her press on.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0had lost considerable elevation, and was already at\u00a0the end of the steep part of the trail, when the storm hit.\u00a0 It rained harder and the wind blew.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP took shelter beneath a clump of trees right next to the trail.\u00a0 The trees provided pretty good protection.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t get very wet.\u00a0 The worst was over in 10-15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Lupe was still reluctant to go on.\u00a0 She could still hear\u00a0the thunder.\u00a0 Then she saw a deer in the forest.\u00a0 In an instant,\u00a0the thunder was forgotten.\u00a0 An hour before sunset, Lupe was back at the G6.\u00a0 Her adventures\u00a0on Black Mountain were done.<\/p>\n

\"Happy<\/a>
Happy days. Lupe in a meadow of flowers near the NE rim of Black Mountain where Dingoes are seldom seen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2015 Wyoming, Colorado & Utah Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dawn on Day 7 of Lupe’s great\u00a0Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation found Lupe at Battle Pass in southern Wyoming.\u00a0 The American Dingo was up and ready to go.\u00a0 Another great day of Dingo adventures was about to begin.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed W on Hwy 70.\u00a0 Lupe’s peakbagging goal for the day was going to … Continue reading Black Mountain, Moffat County Highpoint, Colorado (8-15-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[105,294,106,296,26,104,295],"class_list":["post-2019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2015-wyoming-colorado-utah","tag-american-dingo","tag-black-mountain","tag-carolina-dog","tag-colorado","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-lupe","tag-moffat-county-high-point"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/P1060664.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2019"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20836,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019\/revisions\/20836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}